Haslam to reassess Cordell Hull plan

5:56 PM,
Jul. 16, 2013

With the state's efforts to reorganize its office space, the plan includes demolishing Cordell Hull, over the objections of local preservationists. Key questions are whether the state and the consulting firm it hired are exaggerating the building's state of disrepair.

Written by

Chas Sisk
| The Tennessean

Gov. Bill Haslam's administration will reassess a plan to close and tear down the Cordell Hull Building, but senior aides defended the decision to outsource state real estate contracts, saying it will save Tennessee money.

Chief of staff Mark Cate said at a hearing Tuesday that the administration will put "another set of eyes" on a determination that the Cordell Hull Building in downtown Nashville is too costly to repair. But administration officials also disputed suggestions the plan had been biased because the real estate firm that made it stands to benefit when state workers move out.